“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.” – Jesus in Matthew 7:6 (MSG)

In Part 1, I presented an unintentional review of NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar (I liked it), but faulted the original play for its failure to portray the resurrection of Jesus — his physical death and his rising form the grave on the third day. Look, I appreciate Andrew Lloyd Weber’s emphasizing the humanness of Jesus. Orthodox Christians have often glossed over His humanity and unwittingly fallen into error. At the same time, Weber over-emphasizes Jesus’ humanity, as it seems the story concludes that Jesus was a charismatic leader whom the zeitgeist promoted beyond any promise a man could keep — hence the designation, Superstar.

Horses for courses, toys for tots

If you want to learn about the nature of God and the nature of man, I submit that there are better sources of information than NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar or ABC’s airing of The Ten Commandments. I commend both works  and both networks for at least portraying these events. The shows are well-told with high production values and top-tier actors. They are by far better than the anything-for-a-buck Passover Bag of Plagues pictured here. But like these stupid so-called toys,  once you know the story in its fullness, these programs seem trivial.

In this post, I’d like to lay out just a few reasons why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus and why i believe you should too.

The evidence for the resurrection

Excuse me, but who thought this was a good idea?

Let’s start with the relevant passage from the Bible. Here’s Matthew’s gospel following his account of Jesus’ death on the cross:

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard^[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he^[lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” – Matthew 27:57-66; 28:1-15 (NIV)

Let’s start where I left off in Part 1: Despite the Jewish authorities and Roman government’s shared interest in snuffing this upstart sect, Jesus’ enemies couldn’t produce his remains. Note that the officials stationed guards — Roman soldiers — to seal and guard the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing Jesus’ body.

Note also the rich detail we have surrounding the story. We have the name of the man who prepared Jesus’ body for burial and who placed the body in his unused tomb. And there’s more. We have the cover-up for the failure of the guards and the harsh description in the mouths of the Pharisees, calling Jesus “that impostor.” Most people seeking to burnish the reputation of a revered figure don’t include disparaging information.

Eyewitnesses to history

Elsewhere in the Bible we learn that the risen Jesus appeared to many people on multiple occasions. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 Paul the Apostle writes that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time. He explained that many of them were still living a the time he wrote his account, so if he were misleading or mistaken, there were people who could have –and certainly would have — contradicted him. Don’t forget that Rome actively pursued and sought to exterminate Christians in the first century and beyond. Contradictory testimony would have been valuable and would have been promoted.

Historic recency

In his book History and Christianity, John W. Montgomery explains that the gospel writers’ earliest manuscripts appeared no later than 100 AD — well within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses to the resurrection. As I mentioned, the appearance of manuscripts contemporaneous to eyewitnesses would have allowed for correction or condemnation if these manuscripts had been incorrect.

This comparatively short interval is noteworthy among ancient writings. Montgomery says that the shortest interval between the death and the appearance of the earliest manuscripts attributed to an author are those of Plato. No serious historian doubts the accuracy or authenticity of the words attributed to Plato — and the earliest manuscripts appeared approximately 800 years after his death.

You bet your life

And last, we have the eyewitnesses to the resurrection who were executed for asserting the truth of the resurrection. Sincere people will die for something they erroneously believe to be true, but no one would willingly die for something he knows is false. Consider the logic: If the resurrection were a fraud and the afterlife a hollow promise, what would be the incentive to die thereby wasting one’s one and only life?

Here’s where it gets personal

This is why it matters that Jesus died and rose again: without the Grace and pardon of God, you and I are doomed to an eternity separated from God. Each one of us was born infected with the corruption of this fallen world. God is love and He loves us, but God is also just, so He must punish sin. That’s where Jesus comes in. The sinless son of God came into the world, fully God and fully human, and lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God. Then He took the sins of the world on Himself and allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross — an innocent man dying a criminal’s death. This is the fulfillment of the ceremonial law of Moses, the once and forever fulfillment of the Passover, and the satisfaction of the law’s legitimate claim on blood for the covering and propitiation of sin. God’s love was so great, that He allowed His son Jesus to die for you and me, to take our punishment. But it’s even better than this.

If Jesus had simply died a martyr’s death as a human sacrifice, the benefit would have had an expiration date. Instead, since the wages of sin is death, Jesus proved He had mastered and broken death forever by staying in the grave until the third day and then rising — alive. This is why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is such a big deal. We need it.

So how about you — In what ways do you agree or disagree about the importance of the resurrection? Did you believe it before? Do you believe it now? Add your comments below.